Absurdism | How to Party at the End of Meaning ☄️ 

Nihilism is living with a "why?" Absurdism is living with a "why not?"

"I won't just gaze into the abyss, I'll maintain uncomfortable eye contact with it" is such a fucking raw line

"I won't just gaze into the abyss, I'll maintain uncomfortable eye contact with it." Need that on a t-shirt.

I'm 42, have terminal cancer. My life will get worse until I die. That means that now is the best period of the rest of my life. So I enjoy the hell out of it. I love the concept of Absurdism, it's about accepting and living strong. I get the life I get, it would be a shame not enjoining it until the end.

“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune

I’ve always said “spite is the greatest motivator.” This is what i meant. Living in spite of death. Loving in spite of hate. Creating in spite of destruction. Laughing in spite of despair and hopelessness.

It is so comforting to know other people think to the depths of reality like this. It eases my existential anxiety to know I am not alone and not going crazy.

Whenever I'm having anxiety I watch this channel to replace it with existential crisis, thank you for your service

"Living inside a paradox, and still doing the dishes" absolutely slayed me. Amazing content.

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” Damn.

Absurdism is probably the word ive been looking for in this life. Im living in a paradox, and still doing the dishes.

Absurdism is the only practical conclusion to Nihilism. "I exist for no reason and have no purpose. Well...shit. Guess its on me then."

I would just like to say that this video is the exact length of time that it took me to open and peel two pomegranates, and having watched this I now have a Tupperware full of pomegranate seeds and a slightly more hopeful outlook on life! Thank you x

“It isn’t meaningless that hurts, it’s the contradiction of needing meaning and not getting it” *image of a sad pug in a rainstorm, definitely thinking that exact thought*

"Courage isn't the absence of fear, courage is the mastery of fear." - really encouraging quote.

2:41: As Christopher Hitchens said: "If there were nothing rather than something, you'd be complaining just as much."

"Oh, we're... alive. That's unprecidentally weird." This is possibly the most accurate quote.

exurb1a is the only guy who can make existential crisis funny

"Living inside a paradox - and still doing the dishes" - pure gold, good sir. The whole video is. Thank you for creating it!

"If you're a fan of the theater of the absurd, it's a great time to be alive." -- David Lynch

I discovered your videos in the summer of 2021. I was in a crisis, had fallen out with my whole family and was sleeping on the streets. The few nights I found a sofa to crash on for the night, I would watch your videos and listen to your stories as I fell asleep. They would inspire me, distract me and bring me happiness in the darkest time of my life. Now, I have my own house I share with my girlfriend, our baby son and I'm over 500 days clean and sober and I've wanted to comment something on a video of yours for a while now just to thank you for being a positive force in my life when I needed one the most, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing what you do.

"I won't just gaze into the abyss, I'll maintain uncomfortable eye contact with it." Ultimately, all we need to realize is that the abyss suffers from severe social anxiety.

Still remember when I first heard about this...still amazes me how I ended up basing my life on absurdism without even knowing it

Nihilism is "I am going to die " Absurdism is " If I am going to die, might as well......."

“Who can be sure? Not us.” This is something that I think far too many people lose sight of. So many people are far too sure of themselves and their place in the universe.

one of my favourite quotes of Albert Camus is: "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." his books really helped me find peace in suffering.

i think "living in a paradox but still doing the dishes" might be one of my favourite ways to describe a philosophical theory. thank you for being better than my philosophy teacher

“I won’t take any advice from someone who dresses like a chess piece.” Wise, wise words indeed.

I have been feeling way too okay with life lately and got into a loop of not thinking too much about my purpose. Thanks for posting just in time

‘Personally I refuse to take life advice from someone who dresses up as a chess piece’. I laughed so hard at this one.

The existential crisis turtle is back

I love how absurdism, the thing that answers the question to the meaning of life with "it just is, or isn't, depending on what you think, but in the end it doesn't matter because it just is" is the perfect match for the most anxious, troubled, melancholic, in search for THE REAL answers people on earth (or wherever else)

Absurdism is one of those philosophies I stumbled into myself during self exploration, or rather a nihilistic version of it. I was suicidal, lost, fraying at the edges, losing my sense of self and locked up in a mental ward for being depressed. I looked inward during that time and came up with many of the conclusions that form absurdism, but also nihilism. Nothing mattered I concluded. Nothing has a deeper meaning. Yet if nothing matters then that means the meaning is that which I give it. So should I not smile and give meaning to the pleasures of life? I don't need a deeper purpose to laugh, to sing, to dance, or to smile. Instead I can assign meaning those things, the meaning of enjoying this existence, because this is a rather fun ride we're on. The conclusion that nothing had meaning lead me to nihilism, but that it didn't need meaning lead me to absurdism. The fun was in granting it meaning. If my life had no meaning than I shall rebel by giving it meaning, and that meaning was to see just how much I could relish in it all. Without meaning there was freedom to paint the world around me in my own meaning. To see the wonders of the world without worrying about them. Have you ever sat down and wrote an 80 page essay on a single class of item a table top roleplaying game? I have, then I decided it needed to be much much longer as I didn't write enough, I expect when I'm done it'll be 200 or more pages. So much work put into something that doesn't matter some would say, but if nothing matters then everything is equally deserving of your efforts. Put those efforts into where you find love and joy. Cherish the now, laugh at the awful, mock the lovely. Challenge it all to spark your interest enough to give it meaning. And then, snatch it away just to give it a new meaning. The world is empty, so rather than cry about it we should fill it with our own meaning. Kindness for its own sake, joy just to be happy, and sorrow to remind us why we laugh. Give your everything to everything, because there's no value to keeping it to yourself. Or don't. It doesn't matter either way. And that's OK. It doesn't need to matter. It exists regardless, and that's just wonderful. So when you ask "why?" You are granting meaning to that answer, so might as well go find it, after all, something with meaning is exceptional when nothing is meaningful. Just because it isn't important, doesn't mean you can't care about it.

"Hatched, matched, and dispatched." One of the greatest lines EVER! Genius.

"Living inside a paradox and still doing the dishes" I don't know why that sentence hit me so hard but goddamn I love it

I come back to this video every now and again when I feel as though life is just sorta getting the better of me or someone close to me. And it never fails to hit home that Albert Camus (along with exurb1a) found such the right words to explain how people behave and act in the now. And that we seemingly can’t help it. The pursuit of answers, going for a beer, doing the dishes, watching puffins. All of life is itself saying “fuck it we ball” and just living. Such a great philosophy and video.

My personal take on absurdism is this: we, as a sentient species, are the eyes and the ears of the universe. We are the universe watching itself. Every time I observe something, especially something with no one else present to witness it, is a precise moment of perspective in space and time that would've otherwise gone wasted if not for me. It doesn't matter whether I fully grasp what I saw or not, I derive a great degree of satisfaction from this sense of self-awareness regardless. This is what makes life worth living to me, and I'm going to keep doing it until the day I die, because the alternative is to experience nothing, and that's boring as shit.

what I remembered from this video: 1. Dont unlife myself 2. Courage isn't the absence of fear, courage is the mastery of fear. 3. Be French

I feel like your videos have been steadily building to encouraging us all to embrace absurdism, and I really appreciate it

At the word "puffin" my eyes watered. Thank you.

Absurdism is the answer I’ve been wanting for years, it makes me feel happy (since hope doesn’t exist) that I can just enjoy my little fruit strips as I exist in the infinite void of everything.

Absurdism reminds me of "the cosmic joke" which is essentially a spiritual phenomenon in deep meditation where someone is overtaken by uncontrollable laughter. It's like when you're told a joke and no one gets it except that 1 person in the crowd.

Hearing someone else finally discuss this side of life is like a breath of fresh air.

This has been my comfort video for months. It plays while I brush my teeth, cook dinner, or literally do anything human and mundane. Thank you for this.

I’ve always treated life as a play, being performed to an empty theater. As long as I keep giving a performance I’m winning in a way. I’d demonstrate I never needed an audience in the first place, rather this performance is for me and the other members of the play. Also the hell I’m gonna be beaten by a bunch of empty chairs.

Considering both exurb1a and absurdism helped me through tough times, ironically only divine intervention could make this video possible

Absurdism is the word for what I’ve been experiencing the past couple of years, I just realized! I always like to tell myself “in a world as nihilistic as it is, sometimes all you can do is laugh and find your own meaning” and it’s quite comforting. (Side note, hope everyone’s Sunday is going swell 💙)

It would sound like an exaggeration but this might downright be the most impactful video I've ever seen in like, EVER. It had me weeping with a grin, I didn't even know humans are capable of experiencing such contradictory feelings.

"I am here," is a sentiment with more nuance than 3 words can effectively convey.

I was extremely young when I had my first existential crisis, I’m talking 7 or 8 years old. It made me feel weird about “why/how do I exist, is my body me or is my mind me?” But luckily because I was so young it evolved into absurdism, not nihilism. When I was a teenager I couldn’t understand why people felt life had no meaning or purpose, and now that I’m older nihilism feels like giving up on FINDING your own personal meaning and purpose. I’m glad I came across this video, I thought I was just a weirdo for being like this.

hello Mr turtle man, this video is, and I mean this with no hyperbole, my favorite piece of media ever. It is the only thing to make me fucking SOB whenever I watch it while especially down, and after I’m done crying, I feel much, much better. Thank you so fucking much for making this, it has saved me from so many nights of feeling shitty and hopeless and sad. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

“Oh it’s a puffin… let’s go for a beer” - never knew I was an absurdist, but this literally explains everything I love about life

As someone who's dedicated a lot of time to reading Camus, I was pleased to see that this video is really accurate to his spirit and message! I hope more people can find peace in his message, because at least for me, the absurdist life is life changing!

it’s actually insane how accurately you managed to put into words the exact same “chill down my spine” unnerving feeling i get when i consider the whole nothing/infinity thing regarding the first cause. it’s the closest to a lovecraftian concept i can experience. a literal void in the middle of philosophy and when you have a full intuitive grasp of that concept you’re forced to confront that right now, at this present moment, you’re only existing and consciously thinking about this very concept because of one of two impossible possibilities that *must* be true

I don’t usually comment but… This video has helped me in ways I never imagined. Thank you for existing and sharing this with the world.

This guy validates my experience when everyone else thinks I'm crazy. Thank you for articulating my thoughts in a coherent way.

I am two weeks short of being 77 years old, and this is the best damn 11 minutes and 21 seconds that I’ve seen and listened to in my whole life. Combine those two, absurdism and stoicism, and then one can drop the suicidal thoughts of nihilism. And mentioning suicide reminded me of Fredrick Nietzsche, saying something like “contemplating suicide has helped me make it through many a night.” Thank you exurb1a.

"One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy" is the most important message by Camus. Its a game changer.

Whenever i loose all meaning in life, i return to the nice puffin

Oh yeah I was starting to feel not depressed enough, thank you for balancing things out.

You don’t now how happy this video made me. Right now I’m really struggling with finding a reason in my life. I turned 20 yesterday and I feel real lost in this world. Right now I’m doing a exchange year in Colombia and I’m from Germany. Learning Spanish in a small town in Colombia is crazy and meaningless at the same time. The last few months far from home totally alone with only a few new friends I started to realize that actually maybe nothing Mathers but being alive. Like living in the moment and enjoying als this absurdism. Realizing that I’m not the only lost Wanderer in this world makes me really happy and I am really excited to look further into your book as well in Alberts work. Thank you for your work you just made my life a bit meaninglessly meaningful :)

For years I was thinking along the the exact idea of absurdism but didn’t realize that it was an established mentality to have. Knowing that I’m not the only one out there that thinks like that makes this one of the most reassuring and impactful videos I’ve ever watched 💯 thanks bro.

No gonna lie, Absurdism saved me, I only recently started to really practice absurdist thought and it was the weight of the world off my shoulders. I have depression and know about crushingly depressing realities of our current world all too well. However finally I started smiling more than I ever did, because I stopped questioning the sense, the meaning, any of this, and I found inner peace in the chaos.

Every time I watch one of his videos, I feel relieved that someone else thinks like I do😂

The only reason I’ll always struggle with the why question, is the more I think about it the more I realize how much of my life I spend doing pointless things. There’s no point in having a high paying job, huge house, fancy car (unless you want all that) like we’re told growing up. So now I’m in my mid 20’s realizing that everything I’ve been told about life is completely useless. I understand that there is a sense of freedom in this. But all the same it seems to be responsible for the hollow feeling I find attached to everything I do anymore. It’s nice to watch these videos and realize that I’m not the only one thinking about this stuff, and that there is a sense of peace that can be achieved. I hope that I, along with anyone else feeling this way, can find that peace. Thank you for making all these videos, they’ve had a profound affect on me and many others.

This video is the embodiment of my mind holy shit. This is precisely how I see reality . Didn't even know this perspective had a name, and a suiting one at that. "Absurdism". Thanks a lot. I feel a happy and comfort in knowing there are others having this insanity playing out in their head.

Nihilist: “Why live when you don’t matter?” Absurdist: “Because if I do, then I will.”

I don’t know why, but when you told the story about the explorers on elephant island, when you talked about how they stayed joyous even in the face of complete isolation and almost guaranteed death, it made me cry more than I had in a very long time. Thank you.

I was actually thinking this morning 'I hope Exurb1a uploads a video sometime soon'. Thank you!

Thanks turtle, you are the content creator equivalent to sitting on a bench and the sun breaking through the clouds on a rough day, it doesn't fix everything but it soothes the itch in the back of my mind for a while. Keep doing what you do man!

3:45 "how can any system exist without a defined beginning?" 1500s sailor trying to find the "starting" edge of Earth

Thank you. As a suicide survivor (somehow) who wrestles with all these questions constantly, you distilled/summarized a huge swath of philosophy into a lovely whiskey of thought. My next drink is to you

"I won't be taking any advice from someone who dress as a chess piece" must be one of the greatest quotes of all time

its really comforting to know that there are other people who have also asked these questions to themselves and havent been able to find an answer

This video summarized 90% of panic attacks and mental breakdowns that keep me up at night.

Absurdism is what cures my anxiety, but also brings me the feeling of nothingness.

Yeah I'm very much an absurdist. I came to that conclusion by myself in a vacuum actually. Well, I mean. I was actually watching a bunch of your videos a long time ago and basically I was getting existential crisises on the daily and then I was like "why should I continue to wallow here... why don't I just do things that make me happy instead. Questioning existence makes me sad, so I'll stop that, and I'll just go play games or build a model kit." Now I know it has a name! That's cool.

The recognition of the absurd is a point of freedom and humor just beyond the constraints of paradox

A circle has no beginning nor an end, you can start drawing it from any point and still end up with the same circle. The universe is infinite and has no beginning, but you can also think that every moment is the beginning.

“Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the mastery of fear.” Very very cool. Now I have something to offer my 6 year-old next time they are scared to walk down our dim staircase. Thanks for being you, turtle guy.

The manner of Camus's death reinforced his whole philosophy. That's how great he was.

This was already my philosophy on life. I’m glad I can now say I’m an absurdist.

"Don't look at me like that; you clicked on this video" - brilliant.

By far the greatest philosopher of contemporary times, not just in ability to grasp and disseminate difficult concepts, but in making them incredibly entertaining while doing so. This is one of your best works yet.

"Living inside a paradox and still doing the dishes" my god its a masterpiece

living happily knowing ur in a cruel and unjust world is more honorable and better than succumbing to the world and just being sad, its like ur letting it control u or something. also i really like the music

Another response to all of this is, “I have no idea what’s going on and I have no desire to know. Just because it makes the most intuitive sense, I’ll be kind, generous, and enjoy consciousness as much as possible.”

I have watched this video well over 10 times and it keeps me grounded. Life is absurd and at times beautiful and terrible but also dull and comfortable. This video helps me enjoy the random existence we have. Much love.

"I used to find, if I thought about this too long, that it inspired the kind of horror as when you realized that third joint was a bad idea." And I felt that

"How do we live through it? By being very, very French. With passion, and freedom, and a revolt." Love it. Long live the French spirit.

the art of mastering absurdism: be at peace with the chaos.

Your content literally just gets better and better. You're like the fine wine of our absurd species.

Just wanted to introduce myself as a new subscriber. I'm a 67yo disabled vet confined to my couch "if I knew I was going to live....I'd have taken better care..." My days have been reduced to mind numbing drivel on TV UNTIL! I came across your channel. I wanted to thank you for the equivalent of the mental defibrillator that is your content. So.. Thanks...I needed that! I'm sure I'll be here again and again. And I vow that once my country is in the hands of real, capable adults and I can spend my money on more than just food and shelter, I will be a faithful contributor. Thanks again.

I came to Absurdism while taking LSD regularly during the Pandemic. I'm so glad I took it into my life, its held me with my discipline, dedication, creativity, and its helped me past my depression. Life has no meaning ✌️🧡😊

Probably it will get lost among other thousands of comments, but if you read this one day, just wanna let you know this video inspired me to get back on working on my comic. I gave up on the project years ago, but one character has a lot of sartre inside himself. Thank you man, I had forggoten how the absurd can be inspiring.

Your optimistic take on such a heavy topic is fucking fantastic. The way you blend comedy and philosophy in such an accessible way is awesome.

What a video! Holy moly it's almost like a really well worded and condensed version of a particular string of thoughts I've had over the last 6 years and all of the psychedelic trips contained within. I've never seen this channel before but my goodness that was good. Thank you so much

this video felt like myself, thank you for making this, i am so thankful and humbled.

“We can dance in the mystery absurdism says, with the dance as the point all along” No wonder you make poems

it feels like with every video you pull hundreds of years old ideas out of my brain that i couldnt put to words and explain them while gaining monetary gain from it. thank you for everything you do, you are an inspiration